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Southwest Weather Bulletin Spring-Summer 2012 Edition National Weather Service Santa Teresa-El Paso
Heavy Autumn Rains and Early Winter
Snows Followed by Warm Dry and
Occasionally Windy Weather
Visibilities were occasionally near zero across the El Paso area during the March 18 2012 wind and dust storm. (Joe Rogash NWS/NOAA)
A wide variety of weather affected
southwestern and south central New
Mexico and western Texas during the
autumn, winter and early spring of
2011/2012. Most of the October period
saw warm and mostly dry weather with
above normal temperatures. Despite
this, showers and thunderstorms with
hail and heavy rains did strike a few
locations during the month. West to
southwest winds prevailed for much of
November resulting in continued dry
conditions until a deep low pressure
system brought much needed heavy
rains to portions of southwestern New
Mexico west of the Rio Grande.
December was a chilly month for the
Borderland as a series of low pressure
systems with cold Canadian air invaded
the region causing well below normal
temperatures along with areas of heavy
rains and snow, again mainly west of the
Rio Grande and over the higher
mountains. The weather pattern for
January through April was conducive for
persistent west to southwest winds.
National Weather Service El Paso/Santa Teresa
Meteorologist-In-Charge – Jesse Haro Warning Coordination Meteorologist – John Fausett Science Officer – Val Macblain Newsletter Editor-Writer/Senior Forecaster – Joe Rogash
Consequently temperatures were near or
above normal January through April with
little rain or snow falling. However a series of
deep low pressure systems moving west to
east across the southwestern United States
produced very windy conditions with
extensive blowing dust and low visibilities.
The continuation of very dry weather also
created the worst drought in 40 years for
much of the area, especially east of the Rio
Grande.
Seasonal Weather Highlights
October 2: Strong thunderstorms drop 1.2
inches of rain over Cloverdale in Hidalgo
County New Mexico.
October 4: Widespread showers and
thunderstorms move across Hidalgo, Grant,
Luna and Sierra Counties producing locally
heavy rains and small hail. Half-inch hail is
reported at Lordsburg.
November 5: Very windy as winds gust to
near 70 mph over northeast El Paso with
gusts around 50 to 60 mph most elsewhere.
November 24-25: A powerful Pacific storm
moves across the southwestern United States
pulling abundant moisture northward into
southern New Mexico. As a result moderate
to heavy rains fall across portions of south
central and southwestern New Mexico with
around 1 to almost 2 inch rainfalls reported
over portions of Grant, Luna and Hidaldo
Counties. Minor flooding occurs in Deming.
December 01: Very windy as gusts are
measured to 75 mph over west El Paso with
gusts near 80 mph at Dripping Springs New
Mexico.
November 24, 2011 satellite image showing the storm that brought heavy rains to New Mexico.
Dense fog formed over Santa Teresa during the morning of December 5. (Joe Rogash NWS/NOAA)
Gusts around 60 mph also occur in the Las
Cruces area. The winds blow the roof off of a
trailer in northeast Las Cruces.
December 02-03: Winter storm produces 4 to
8 inches of snow around Cloudcroft and Silver
City. 3 to 4 inches of snow also fall around
Truth or Consequences with 2 inch snowfalls
at Alamogordo.
Heavy snow fell over Silver City on December 3. (Carlos Silva/Silver City Sun News)
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The December 5 winter storm brought 4 to 6 inches of snow to the Alamogordo area. (Joe Rogash/NWS)
Las Cruces during the December 5 winter storm. (Jeff Passner)
December 5: Winter storm brings
widespread snows across southern New
Mexico and western Texas. Around 4 to 6
inches of snow fall in the vicinity of
Alamogordo, Las Cruces and Deming with
up to 2 inches of snow occurring over east
El Paso. Very cold air also flows into the
region with temperatures about 15 to 20
degrees below normal December 5-7.
December 12-13: Another deep Pacific low
pressure storm system moves across the
southwestern United States with southerly
winds ahead of it pushing very moist air
into New Mexico. Unusually heavy rains
therefore fall over much of southwestern
New Mexico with 2 to 3 inches of rain
reported around Silver City. 2.5 inches of
rain also fall near Cloverdale with almost
2.5 inches of rain at Animas and 2 inches
of rain at Lordsburg. From 1 to 2 inches of
rain also fall around Truth or
Consequences and over an inch of rain
falls near Deming.
December 18-19: Snow amounts of 4 to 8
inches fall in the Cloudcroft and High Rolls
vicinity with almost 5 inches of snow near
White Signal. Strong thunderstorms also
move across portions of Dona Ana and El
Paso Counties. Radar image showing heavy rains over New Mexico on December 13.
3
Snow fell over Cloudcroft during the afternoon of December 19.
December 23-24: A major snowstorm brings a
white Christmas to the Borderland. Heaviest
snows are over northeast Otero County as
10 to 20 inches of snow fall around Cloudcroft
and Mayhill. To the west 6 to 12 inches of
snow are reported in Grant County near
Bayard, Silver City, Tyrone and Hillsboro.
Across the lower elevations 7 inches of snow
are measured in Dona Ana County near
Rincon with 3 to 6 inches of snow in the Las
Cruces vicinity. In west Texas 4 inches of
snow fall over portions of east El Paso. The
widespread snows force numerous road
closures and disrupt holiday travel.
January 16: A windy day as winds gust
around 50 to 60 mph across much of the
region.
January 22: Windy during the morning with
winds gusting to 71 mph at Organ NM and 66
mph over northeast El Paso.
February 14: Windy with winds gusting
around 50 mph across the lowlands and
almost 70 mph near the mountains.
February 17: Seven inches of snow fall near
Mimbres.
Wind gusts over 60 mph with blowing sand and dust reduced visibilities to near 0 miles around Sunland Park and Santa Teresa NM on March 18. (Joe Rogash NWS/NOAA)
March 18: Major wind and dust storm strikes
the Borderland. Winds gust over 70 mph across
portions of east El Paso and near Rodeo and
Red Rock NM with widespread gusts from 50 to
60 mph elsewhere. The blowing sand and dust
reduce visibilities to near zero over much of the
region resulting in numerous road closures
including portions of Interstate 10 and Highway
180.
4
From the late autumn through the winter much of the Rio Grande was completely dry in the El Paso area. (Joe Rogash NWS/NOAA)
March 26: Very warm day across the region
with El Paso, Deming, Orogrande, and
Cloudcroft recording new record high
temperatures of 90, 91, 84 and 68 respectively.
April 8: During the late evening a few severe
thunderstorms move northward from Mexico
into the Santa Teresa-west El Paso area
dropping quarter-sized hail and almost an inch
of rain over a small area.
April 14: Windy across the area with widespread
blowing dust and lowered visibilities. Winds gust
to 82 mph over San Augustine pass with gusts
around 50 to 60 mph measured over much of
the lowlands.
April 26: Another windy day with blowing dust
and low visibilities as winds gust around 40 to
50 mph over much of the region.
On April 8 hail up to the size of quarters fell over Santa Teresa and west El Paso. (Mike Hardiman NWS/NOAA)
By late April severe to extreme drought conditions covered southern New Mexico and western Texas.
On April 22 this dust devil developed over east El Paso. (Egbert Zavala)
The late April fire danger was high to extreme across southern New Mexico and west Texas.
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National Weather Service in Santa
Teresa to Get Latest Radar Technology
The Santa Teresa/El Paso National Weather
Service Forecast Office (located in Santa
Teresa NM) along with the Holloman Air
Force Base in Alamogordo NM will receive
the new Dual- Polarization Doppler Radar by
early summer of this year. The Dual-
Polarization radar is a newer more advanced
technology which will allow the Weather
Service to more accurately detect and warn
for hazardous weather across southern New
Mexico and western Texas.
Weather radar works by transmitting
electrical radio wave pulses which strike an
object such as a rain drop or ice crystal. The
pulse bounces off the objects and returns to
an antenna where the signal is processed by
computers before being displayed for
analyses by meteorologists.
The modernized Dual-Polarization Doppler
Radar transmits radio waves that have both
horizontally and vertically oriented pulses
which allow the radar to better determine the
presence of such elements as rain drops,
ice, hail, snow and even debris picked up by
high winds. The radar will also continue to
measure the wind velocities associated with
atmospheric disturbances such as
thunderstorms and tornadoes.
The advantages of Dual Polarization Radar
will include more accurate measurements of
rainfall amounts, more reliable detection of
large hail, and an improved capability to
differentiate between rain, hail and snow.
Thus the radar will lead to improvements in
flash flood and severe thunderstorm
warnings and short term winter weather
forecasts.
The National Weather Service Doppler Weather Radar located in Santa Teresa NM.
Dual-Polarization Radar reflectivity image of a deadly and destructive tornadic thunderstorm which struck West Liberty Kentucky (below).
(National Weather Service Louisville KY)
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Got Rainfall?
Join CoCoRaHS! CoCoRaHS is the Community Collaborative Rain,
Hail, and Snow Network -- a non-profit, community-
based, high-density network of volunteers who take
daily measurements of rain, hail, and snow in their
backyards.
The data is sent to the National Weather Service,
and is used to help improve river forecasts, and flash
flood guidance. It also helps meteorologists
understand local rainfall and snowfall patterns.
All you need is a standard 4-inch rain gauge, an
interest in weather, and an internet connection!
CoCoRaHS has been a nationwide network for many
years, and there are several observers in the El
Paso/Santa Teresa County Warning Area…
especially around Las Cruces and Deming.
However, there are only a handful of observers in the
El Paso area, and there are plenty of gaps in Sierra,
Hudspeth, and Hidalgo counties.
CoCoRaHS is volunteer-friendly. Unlike the NWS
COOP Observer Program, the emphasis is on
understanding areal distribution of precipitation for
specific events – not on building a continuous record
for a specific point location. If you’re away, you can
easily send a “multi-day precipitation” report, or just
report “Missing” precipitation. During dry stretches,
you can report “daily zeros” en-masse rather than
remembering to do it every day.
For more information on CoCoRaHS, visit the NWS
El Paso Volunteer Portal at:
www.weather.gov/elpaso/?n=volunteer
There’s plenty of CoCoRaHS observers in Las Cruces, but very few in El Paso. Help us fill-in the gaps!
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By the early spring the poppies were in bloom over the Florida Mountains near Deming. (John Fausett NWS/NOAA)
Cactus flower in bloom at Santa Teresa. (Charlotte Rogash)
Spotters…Please call the National Weather Service If You Observe:
Tornado or Funnel Cloud…Report Time, Location and Movement
Hail…1/2 Inch or Larger
Damaging Winds…Damage To Buildings, Motor Vehicles, Trees, Power Lines
And Other Structures
Flash Flooding…Flooding Of Streets and Buildings , Or If Rivers, Streams And
Arroyos Flood Or Overflow
Heavy Rains…1/2 Inch of Rain In Less Than 30 Minutes Or At Least 1 Inch Of
Rain In Less Than 2 Hours
Blowing Dust…Whenever Blowing Dust Reduces The Visibility To Less Than 2 Miles.
Snow Amounts Greater Than An Inch
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